Remembering Al Minturn
Excuse me for the very personal post here, but Al Minturn was a good friend and mentor. I can't allow his passing to go unnoticed.
I first met Al in 2004 at the Trials in Sacramento. We became instant friends. He was easy to talk to, was very knowledgeable, and was just like a big bear - warm and friendly, but tough when he had to be. This past summer in Eugene, I remember one morning, well before anyone else was out on the track (except us electronic measurement guys), Al and Ray Fitzhugh came out to put down the foul line extensions for the javelin event that would occur later in the morning. They had all that they needed, and got right after things. Seeing these two veteran officials, good friends, doing what needed to be done, was emblematic of how he worked.
I invited Al to join us at Penn Relays (he had a daughter who works at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital), he thought about it and the next day told me yes, he would love to come in. In April of 2005 he joined our hammer/discus crew. He made such a good impression (hustling and always looking for what needed to be done) that the following year he was named assistant chief of the discus. He brought his own portable PA system, his own windsock, and was always ready to do whatever needed to be done. He was the officials official.
Last year at Penn, we stayed at the same hotel. We had dinner one night at a nearby restaurant, where we talked for a long time and I really got to know the man. He was brilliant. Not just in a track and field sense, but intellectually. He was an engineer by training, but had taught in the LA school system his entire career. It just happened to be the job that was available at the time.
The more we talked, the more respect I had for him. He was not one to brag, or to thump his chest. As I have always said, "good officials get noticed by not getting noticed." Al was a great official!
When my wife was ill and being treated, Al would call periodically to see how she was doing. Although they had never actually met, he cared enough to call. He didn't use email, didn't even have a computer, but he was never hesitant to call and see how things were going.
I will miss him terribly, and no Penn Relays, or for that matter any meet, will be the same for me.
I first met Al in 2004 at the Trials in Sacramento. We became instant friends. He was easy to talk to, was very knowledgeable, and was just like a big bear - warm and friendly, but tough when he had to be. This past summer in Eugene, I remember one morning, well before anyone else was out on the track (except us electronic measurement guys), Al and Ray Fitzhugh came out to put down the foul line extensions for the javelin event that would occur later in the morning. They had all that they needed, and got right after things. Seeing these two veteran officials, good friends, doing what needed to be done, was emblematic of how he worked.
I invited Al to join us at Penn Relays (he had a daughter who works at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital), he thought about it and the next day told me yes, he would love to come in. In April of 2005 he joined our hammer/discus crew. He made such a good impression (hustling and always looking for what needed to be done) that the following year he was named assistant chief of the discus. He brought his own portable PA system, his own windsock, and was always ready to do whatever needed to be done. He was the officials official.
Last year at Penn, we stayed at the same hotel. We had dinner one night at a nearby restaurant, where we talked for a long time and I really got to know the man. He was brilliant. Not just in a track and field sense, but intellectually. He was an engineer by training, but had taught in the LA school system his entire career. It just happened to be the job that was available at the time.
The more we talked, the more respect I had for him. He was not one to brag, or to thump his chest. As I have always said, "good officials get noticed by not getting noticed." Al was a great official!
When my wife was ill and being treated, Al would call periodically to see how she was doing. Although they had never actually met, he cared enough to call. He didn't use email, didn't even have a computer, but he was never hesitant to call and see how things were going.
I will miss him terribly, and no Penn Relays, or for that matter any meet, will be the same for me.
posted by Hammer at
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
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